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Monday, April 21, 2008

How the Grand Canyon was made

Arizona is known as the Grand Canyon State, and while the state has numerous other attractions it is not without reason that this is the one most people think about when they hear the word Arizona mentioned.

It is an enormous natural wonder: it is both the longest and the deepest gorge in the world. It's 290 miles long and a mile deep. From the north to the south rim it is 18 miles across at its widest.

So how was the Grand Canyon created? Short answer: 6 million years of erosion by the Colorado River. The river may be somewhat tamed by dams and divertion projects, but it still follows the path that it established that long ago, and is still quietly deepening the canyon.

So yeah, it was not made by man nor space aliens, nor is there an escalator to the bottom like on young lady once asked me.

I wrote this post as an excuse to share some of the pictures I took last time I hade the fortune to see the canyon. Of course, nothing beats seeing it for yourself, standing on the edge looking a mile straight down.